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  3. Ancestral Maya Economies in Archaeological Perspective
  • Cited by 83
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
December 2014
Print publication year:
2010
Online ISBN:
9781139195867
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139195867
Subjects:
Archaeology of The Americas, Area Studies, Latin American Studies, American Studies, Asian Studies, Archaeology
Information

Book description

The decipherment of Maya hieroglyphs has enabled scholars to better understand Classic society, but many aspects of this civilization remain shrouded in mystery, particularly its economies and social structures. How did farmers, artisans, and rulers make a living in a tropical forest environment? In this study, Patricia McAnany tackles this question and presents the first comprehensive view of ancestral Maya economic practice. Bringing an archaeological approach to the topic, she demonstrates the vital role of ritual practice in indigenous ecologies, gendered labour, and the construction of colossal architecture. Examining Maya royalty as a kind of social speciation, McAnany also shows the fundamentality of social difference as well as the pervasiveness of artisan production and marketplaces in ancestral Maya societies. Written in an engaging and accessible style, this book situates Maya economies within contemporary social, political, and economic theories of social practice, gender, actor-networks, inalienable goods, materiality, social difference, indigenous ecologies, and strategies of state finance.

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